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This "View" of the town of Deerfield is a printed prospectus for a gazetteer of Massachusetts. The complete gazetteer was never published even though the author, Rodolphus Dickinson (1786-1862), a lawyer, Episcopal minister, and "scholar of diverse attainments," issued an abridged prospectus for a gazetteer in 1817. At this time (1815) gazetteers typically quantified information on the geography, history, industry, and demographics of their subject. Dickinson went into great detail describing soil, climate, geology, curiosities, and manufactures and included commentary on the character of the town and its history.